Renovations resume on heritage neighborhood
The Chunyangli neighborhood was listed as a protected heritage zone by the city government in 2016. Hongkou District government launched an innovative renovation that same year.
A trial project has restarted in downtown Hongkou District to renovate local shikumen (stone-gated) buildings while preserving their historic appearance.
The third-phase renovation of the Chunyangli neighborhood, built between 1921 and 1936, was among the first housing renovation projects that resumed work as the city is well on its way to contain the spread of COVID-19.
As the city’s first trial project aimed at modernizing the unique stone-gated buildings while preserving their historic appearance, the new phase of the Chunyangli project is scheduled to finish around July.
The third-phase project was launched in late 2019 to renovate three shikumen houses with 182 households, the Hongkou District government said on Friday.
The shikumen-style buildings are a combination of Western architecture and China’s traditional courtyard structures. They were first built in the 1850s by Europeans living in the city and are unique to Shanghai.
The Chunyangli neighborhood at 211 Dongyuhang Road is a classic lane-style compound, listed as a protected heritage zone by the city government in 2016. The historical neighborhood has a total of 23 shikumen townhouses with 1,181 households.
Work has been completed on two initial phases of the project. Over 220 households were temporarily relocated. Most residents have now moved back into their refurbished homes.
After renovation, some of the apartments have been rented to people working at the nearby North Bund shipping and financial hub.
As a key site of Hongkou’s development, the North Bund area along the Huangpu River has attracted more than 4,500 shipping companies and 1,200 financial firms and institutions.
The project was suspended in late January after the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic. Strict measures have been prepared to ensure the health and safety of workers after the restarting of the project.
Renovation resumes at the Chunyangli neighborhood in Hongkou District.
The housing authority of Hongkou has dispatched long-distance buses and private cars to carry construction workers from outside Shanghai back to the workplace. They have undergone 14-day quarantine before returning to work.
Two rounds of major disinfection are being carried out across the construction site every day.
The district government launched the renovation in 2016. It aims to retain the traditional lifestyle of the area but improve its physical structure, offering a new solution to preserve the city’s unique shikumen houses.
The fully government-subsidized project replaces the former wood-and-brick inner structures — which are prone to rotting, fire and infestation — with steel beams and other fire-resistant materials.
The stone gate, the most iconic part of the shikumen building, and the exterior walls are preserved.
Original construction materials such as red bricks and wooden doors are being reused as much as possible.
Each household can gain an additional 3.5 square meters of space on average from renovation, and plans were tailor-made for each household.
The trial project is expected to be expanded to other shikumen neighborhoods in Shanghai, which enjoy protection status but are beset by poor conditions, according to the urban restructuring department of the city’s housing authority.
Elsewhere in the city, a renovation project on a century-old downtown community of arcade houses in Huangpu District has also been launched.
Some 2,000 households in Baoxingli, an old lane-style neighborhood built in 1916, have started moving out to make way for renovation.
The project is intended to revive the popularity of Jinling Road E., the once busy commercial street. The unique architecture will be preserved and become offices, shops and quality homes.
Each household in the Chunyangli neighborhood gains an extra 3.5 square meters thanks to clever redesign.
